Seventy has a stunning meaning in the Bible. The word “seventy” is used 56 times in the Holy Bible. The number seventy (70) is made up of two numbers — seven, representing perfection and ten representing completeness and God’s law. One may wonder, why the Holy Bible is saturated with the number seven and with multiples of seven like the number seventy. This is indeed a Biblical mathematical phenomenon that remains a mystery to this day. What is true, however, is that seven is God’s favorite number. The proof? The Holy Bible. Throughout the Bible (Genesis to Revelation) the number seven appears many times. Seven is used 735 times in the Holy Bible. In the Book of Revelation, seven is used 54 times. The word “seventh” is used 98 times while the word “sevenfold” appears seven times.

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Let me share some instances in the Holy Bible where the number seventy is mentioned:

After the flood, the world was repopulated through seventy descendants of Noah.

In the Book of Jeremiah 25:11-12, the Israelites were exiled in Babylon for seventy years.

In Matthew 18:21-22, Jesus said to forgive seventy times seven.

In Numbers 11:16, Moses appointed seventy elders of Israel and brought them to the tabernacle of the congregation.

In Exodus 24:9-11, Moses took seventy of the elders of Israel together with Aaron, and his sons went up Mount Sinai and ate and drank with God himself. This tribunal of seventy elders was eventually called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the ancient Jewish court system.

In Luke 10, seventy disciples were sent out by Christ on a “training mission” to preach the Gospel to the surrounding area.

In Exodus 1:5, a total of seventy Israelites, the offspring of Jacob, went down to Egypt and started the Jewish population in Egypt which later swelled to over two million by the time of Exodus;

In the Book of Matthew and in the other books of the Bible (Luke, John, Mark), there are at least seventy parables during the ministry of Jesus Christ;

In the Book of Daniel 9:24, “seventy weeks are determined upon Jerusalem and its people to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for integrity and to bring an everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and prophecy.”

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A discussion of the Biblical significance of the number seventy is timely and relevant in the light of what’s happening these days. For one, the Paris Peace Summit held last January 15th in France was attended by seventy nations. Strangely, the conference was intended to advance peace for parties (Israel and Palestine) that do not involve the attendees. The participants in the Paris Peace Summit proposed the “two-state solution” to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Paris Peace Summit was held just a few days before President-elect Trump took over as US president. By the way, Donald Trump will be 70 years, 7 months, and 7 days old on his first full day in the White House. Adding to the stunning significance of the number seventy to events connected with Israel.

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This column continues to give out copies of the Holy Bible for free to those who cannot afford to buy their own copies. If interested, please send your letter-request to Ms. Nelly Favis Villafuerte, 5233 Fahrenheit St., Palanan, Makati City. Kindly mention if it is the Tagalog, English, Cebuano, or Ilocano Bible that is preferred.

Be joyful and forgiving! (Comments may be sent to Ms. Villafuerte’s email: villafuerte_nelly@yahoo.com.)